Serving all the communities of the Buckeye Lake Region

It’s time to bike Buckeye Lake




BUCKEYE LAKE – For Bike Buckeye Lake co-organizer Jeff Robb, Sr., the dream of a bicycle path completely circling Buckeye Lake begins with one ride. “ODNR is suggesting this initiative comes from the people,” he said.

Robb is partnering with Buckeye Lake/Columbus East KOA campground owners Mike and Shirley Groseclose and other local organizations ultimately to try to raise funds to complete a single bicycle path around the entire lake. In order to raise awareness of this goal, Bike Buckeye Lake is joining with the Licking County Area Transportation Study to host the 2016 Buckeye Lake Bike Ride Saturday, Sept. 24. This ride will start at 1 p.m. (registration is at noon) at Hebron Canal Park, go around North Shore Buckeye Lake and return to Canal Park later that day. The ride is roughly 16 miles and the public is invited to participate. There will be several rest stops along the way, including the KOA.

“We’ll help LCATS get this thing going,” said Robb, who expects roughly 40 or 50 riders to participate.

Several local organizations will be giving away brand new bikes to the registered attendees that register for this event. Attendees do not have to do the ride.

Robb said the mission of this event is to bring more awareness of the importance and fun bicycling brings to the Buckeye Lake Region. Efforts are being made by various groups to include “Bike Buckeye Lake” to facilitate the construction of a bike path/walking trail completely around Buckeye Lake joining up with various bike paths/trails already existing in Licking, Fairfield and Perry counties. Phase 1 of this project will focus on creating a bike path along the four-mile North Bank Dam Rehabilitation Project.

“I believe this project of bringing together a bike, walk path around Buckeye Lake will be a big deal for the health and economy of the Buckeye Lake Area,” Robb said.

“We’re about three miles from everywhere,” said Mike Groseclose, adding that just a few miles of paved pathway would connect Buckeye Lake Village with just about every other local bike path.

For more information contact: Todd Fortune, Technical Study Director for the Licking County Area Transportation Study, (740) 670- 5206 or Jeff Ritter, Bike Buckeye Lake chairman, (740) 644-6834.



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